{"id":46586,"date":"2020-11-21T18:57:29","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T22:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=46586"},"modified":"2020-11-21T18:57:29","modified_gmt":"2020-11-21T22:57:29","slug":"end-of-an-era-universal-radio-is-closing-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/end-of-an-era-universal-radio-is-closing-shop\/","title":{"rendered":"End of an Era: Universal Radio is closing shop"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Universal Radio’s showroom at their previous Reynoldsburg location<\/p><\/div>\n

While I’m very happy for my friends Fred and Barbara Osterman as they head into a well-deserved retirement, I’m very sad that Universal Radio<\/a> will be closing.<\/p>\n

I’ve been a Universal Radio customer since before I was a licensed ham radio operator. They have been–and are to this day–the one ham radio radio retailer that still specialized in shortwave radio receivers.<\/p>\n

Fred and Barbara have generously supported numerous radio clubs, organizations, and non-profit organizations throughout the years and are simply some of the nicest people you could ever meet.<\/p>\n

Fred and Barbara shared the following message with their customers<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Dear Friends Of Universal Radio,<\/p>\n

Time waits for no one, and that includes Barbara and myself. We have decided to retire and our current location in Worthington
\nwill close on November 30, 2020. Even though the store is closing we will fulfill all existing customer orders and have a large amount of inventory to close-out. The Universal Radio website will be maintained for the foreseeable future to sell this remaining stock, publications and some select products. Unfortunately the lack of a store front showroom will preclude us from carrying some manufacturers\u2019 products.<\/p>\n

I am very fortunate to have been in the radio business for over 50 years, 13 at Radio Shack and 37 at Universal Radio. We have met many wonderful people along the journey who have supported me personally as well as Universal Radio. It has been a privilege to have a continuous career in the fascinating field of radio since 1969.<\/p>\n

Please accept our sincere \u201cThank You\u201d for your support of Universal Radio
\nfor these many years, and for the months to come.<\/p>\n

Our new address for correspondence and mail order is below.
\nThis is not a store front.<\/p>\n

Universal Radio Inc.
\n752 N. State St. Unit 222
\nWesterville, OH 43082<\/p>\n

Phone: 614 866-4267<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n

73,<\/p>\n

Fred Osterman N8EKU
\nBarbara Osterman KC8VWI<\/p>\n

\n

Thank you, Fred and Barbara, and here’s wishing you a very happy retirement!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I’m very happy for my friends Fred and Barbara Osterman as they head into a well-deserved retirement, I’m very sad that Universal Radio will be closing. I’ve been a Universal Radio customer since before I was a licensed ham radio operator. They have been–and are to this day–the one ham radio radio retailer that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,714,43],"tags":[3264,4102,34,58,8992],"class_list":["post-46586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-retailers","category-shortwave-radio","tag-fred-osterman","tag-ham-radio","tag-shortwave","tag-universal-radio","tag-universal-radio-closing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-c7o","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21766,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/contest-reminder-remembering-your-dream-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":46586,"position":0},"title":"Contest Reminder: Your \u201cdream radio\u201d","author":"Thomas","date":"October 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Think back to your first days in radio\u2026What was\u00a0your\u00a0\u201cdream\u201d receiver? \u00a0And why? Or--if you're new to shortwave radio--what is your \"dream\" receiver currently, and why? Many of us had\u00a0a radio they dreamed of in their youth, or when they first began to hanker after the radio experience. What was yours?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contests"","block_context":{"text":"Contests","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/contests\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"dial_closeup_1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dial_closeup_1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dial_closeup_1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dial_closeup_1-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53216,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/eton-elite-satellit-pricing-and-context\/","url_meta":{"origin":46586,"position":1},"title":"Eton Elite Satellit Pricing and Context","author":"Thomas","date":"July 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"As the Eton Elite Satellit comes closer to fruition, I've gotten a lot of questions and comments from readers about the price retailers are publishing. Here they are so far (all in USD): Eton Corporation $699.99 Hammacher Schlemmer $699.95 Universal Radio $599.99 Even the lowest price ($599.99 via Universal) is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Eton-Elite-Satellit-This-Month.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Eton-Elite-Satellit-This-Month.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Eton-Elite-Satellit-This-Month.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21809,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/ends-today-dream-radio-contest\/","url_meta":{"origin":46586,"position":2},"title":"Ends Today: “Dream Radio” Contest","author":"Thomas","date":"October 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Think back to your first days in radio\u2026What was\u00a0your\u00a0\u201cdream\u201d receiver? \u00a0And why? Or--if you're new to shortwave radio--what is your \"dream\" receiver currently, and why? Many of us had\u00a0a radio they dreamed of in their youth, or when they first began to hanker after the radio experience. What was yours?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contests"","block_context":{"text":"Contests","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/contests\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"dial_closeup_1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dial_closeup_1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dial_closeup_1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dial_closeup_1-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21447,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/swling-post-reader-contest-remembering-your-dream-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":46586,"position":3},"title":"SWLing Post Reader Contest: remembering your “dream radio”","author":"Thomas","date":"October 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Fred Osterman, President of Universal Radio, recently\u00a0expressed his interest in supporting another SWLing\u00a0Post Reader Contest. 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Or--if you're new to shortwave radio--what is your \"dream\" receiver\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contests"","block_context":{"text":"Contests","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/contests\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Sony ICF-2010 was my dream portable in the 1980s.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Sony2010.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Sony2010.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Sony2010.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Sony2010.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14998,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/share-a-photo-of-your-shack-or-listening-post-for-a-chance-to-win-a-grundig-g2\/","url_meta":{"origin":46586,"position":4},"title":"Share a photo of your shack or listening post for a chance to win a Grundig G2","author":"Thomas","date":"October 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"[UPDATE: We have a winner! If you didn't win, fear not! Follow this link for future contests.] Want\u00a0to share your shack or listening post with the world on the SWLing Post?\u00a0Want a chance to win a Grundig G2? If so, keep reading...! This month, we'll be\u00a0collecting photos of our readers'\u00a0listening\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contests"","block_context":{"text":"Contests","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/contests\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The listening post and ham radio shack of Giuseppe Morl\u00e8 (IZ0GZW) from Ponza Island, Italy.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Shack-listen-and-qrp-iz0gzw-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Shack-listen-and-qrp-iz0gzw-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Shack-listen-and-qrp-iz0gzw-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15109,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/the-aor-ar-mini-b-is-back-and-on-sale-at-universal-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":46586,"position":5},"title":"The AOR AR-Mini B is back (and on sale at Universal Radio)","author":"Thomas","date":"October 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"While browsing the front page of Universal Radio recently, I noted that the\u00a0AOR AR-Mini B handheld communications receiver is currently on sale. 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